Identifying novel injury risk factors in women’s soccer and educating grassroots soccer clubs on how to effectively manage them
▶Summary
Background The popularity of women’s sport has surged, yet injuries persist. Female athletes face higher rates of severe injuries like ACL ruptures, impacting their careers. Understanding these disparities requires robust studies with injury data collection. The FEGEMI project aims to identify female-specific injury risk factors, educate athletes and coaches, and protect players' health. Through collaborative efforts the project seeks to improve injury prevention strategies in female soccer. Objectives The aim was to Investigate genetic, menstrual cycle, maturation, and position associations with injury risk in female soccer players. WP1: Clubs shared players' injury history; saliva samples collected for genome wide association study to identify genetic associations. WP2: Menstruating participants tracked cycles; associations with injury examined. WP3: Maturity status correlated with injury risk based on peak height velocity proximity. Implementation WP1: Clubs provided injury history; saliva collected for GWAS to examine genetic injury associations. WP2: Menstruating participants tracked cycles; associations with injury across menstrual phases. WP3: Maturity status assessed via anthropometry; players categorized by peak height velocity. WP4: S&C coaches surveyed on practices; compared across men's and women's soccer. WP5: Workshops conducted on female-specific injury risks; menstrual cycle education for optimal performance. Achievements WP1: GWAS identified genetic variants associated with injury in 145 female soccer players. Twenty-five variations surpassed significance, including rs75687588 near the CAND1 gene.WP2: 177 players tracked menstrual cycles; injury rates varied across phases.WP3: Post-PHV players had higher non-contact injury rates.WP4: Return-from-injury processes varied among clubs.WP5: Workshops covered menstrual cycle monitoring, training practices, and project findings, receiving positive feedback.